Scenario Three

Two-minute check

How much should your finance function cost?

Set your revenue, pick how complicated the business is, and get the band an Australian owner-managed business should be spending, plus who should be running finance at that size. Add what you spend now and I will tell you where you sit.

Group revenue, all entities, excluding GST.

How complicated is the business?

All-in, per year: salaries and on-costs, bookkeeper, tax accountant, fractional help, software. Leave the auditor out.

Benchmark band

1.6–3.0%
of revenue, all-in

In dollars

$240k–$450k
typical business: about $330k
Finance function cost as a share of revenue. The shaded band runs from a simple business to a complex one; the step at $50M is the audit and ERP threshold. Indicative, from the FY2026 Australian SME benchmark work.
Who runs it
Team size
Systems
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General information only, based on my own experience and the FY2026 benchmark dataset. It is not financial, accounting or legal advice, and it does not account for your circumstances. The $50M step reflects the ASIC large proprietary company tests (two of: revenue $50M, assets $25M, 100 employees). Steve Green, CA.